Forget the fast food burgers at McDonalds’, Burger King or El Corral chains.  Medellín has many other places with great burgers.

An article on this website back in 2013 chose the top five places with the best burgers.  But in my opinion that article is out-of-date and missing many of the best burgers places in Medellín.  Only one of the places in that old article I included in my list of the top 12 burger places, as there now are many newer places with better burgers, in my opinion.

It’s difficult for me to rank these top 12 best burgers places, as several are very good making it difficult to choose between them.  And everyone’s tastes are different and everyone has different criteria so a ranking is subjective. So, I decided not to try to rank them. I ordered these in terms of the number of locations each has.

In addition, I decided to only include true hamburgers – only “beef” burgers.  In this best burgers list, there are no veggie burgers, no chicken burgers and no other types of meat burgers.  But of course, beef burgers with other meat additions like bacon are OK in this list.

Here is my list of the 12 best burgers places in Medellín (in order by count of locations and then alphabetical):

1. Chef Burger

Chef Burger is a popular chain of gourmet burger restaurants and they even use the slogan “The Best Burger in Town”.  They serve American style burgers that are really good.

Chef Burger has 12 different burgers on its menu.  Prices range from 17,900 to 20,900 pesos.  A side of French fries cost 4,500 pesos.  They also have a couple of salad options.

Two of my favorite burgers at Chef Burger are:

• Royale – 150 grams of beef cooked to order with cheddar cheese, bacon, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and lettuce.
• American – 150 grams of beef cooked to order with cheddar cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles and onion rings.

Chef Burger launched in August 2011 with its first restaurant in El Poblado. Chef Burger has been so successful it now has seven restaurants in Medellín plus one in Bogotá and one in Cali. Here’s the seven locations in Medellín:

• El Poblado: Calle 3 # 43 – 37
• El Poblado: Calle 11 A # 42 – 05
• El Poblado: Centro Comercial El Tesoro, Local 1545
• Envigado: Carrera 48 # 26 Sur 87
• Laureles: Circular 76 # 39 -07
• Sabaneta: Centro Comercial Mayorca, Local 5037
• Belén: Centro Comercial Los Molinos, Local 3051

2. Barbacoa Burger & Beer

Barbacoa is another chain of gourmet burger restaurants in Medellín that has some tasty American-style burgers. Barbacoa has over 10 different beef burgers on the menu.  Prices range from 16,900 pesos to 25,900 pesos.  You can make it a combo for an additional 5,000 pesos with fries and a soda.

Two of my favorite burgers at Barbacoa are:

• Molotov – 150 grams (or 250 grams) of beef cooked to order with chili, Gouda cheese, tortilla, guacamole, jalapeños, tomatoes and lettuce.
• House burger – 150 grams (or 250 grams) of beef cooked to order with American cheese, bacon, onions, tomatoes and lettuce.

In addition to burgers, Barbacoa has ribs and salads.

Barbacoa currently has four restaurants in Medellín:

• El Poblado: Carrera 43A # 1 Sur 150, Local 138 in La Strada
• El Poblado: Carrera 43 E # 11A-21
• Envigado: Carrera 44A # 30 Sur-23
• Laureles: Avenida 74B # 39B-29

3. Federal Ribs

Federal Ribs is a restaurant chain that specializes in BBQ ribs.  I have eaten there many times but always wondered why I saw many customers eating a burger at a ribs restaurant.

I finally tried the Riburger at Federal Ribs and understand why so many customers order this.  Federal Ribs only has one burger on the menu and it’s a great burger.  The Riburger comes with 200 grams of beef cooked to order with rib meat, bacon, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and lettuce.

The Riburger costs 27,900 pesos and it comes with your choice of two sides.  Sides options include coleslaw, corn on the cob, caramelized red onions, green salad, chili, French fries, and several other potato options

Federal Ribs currently has four locations in the city:

• El Poblado: Carrera 35 #10B-17
• Envigado: Calle 30 Sur #44A-07
• Laureles: Circular 75 # 39B-21
• Sabaneta: Centro Comercial Mayorca, Local 5051

4. Juicy Lucy

Juicy Lucy is another chain of burger restaurants in Medellín with good burgers.  They have 14 different burgers on the menu ranging in price from 17,900 to 24,900 pesos.  The price includes a side of French fries, onion rings or fried yucca.  Two of my favorite burgers at Juicy Lucy are:

• Juicy Lucy – beef cooked to order with cheddar cheese, bacon, onion rings, tomatoes, mayonnaise, lettuce and BBQ sauce.
• Spicy Lucy – beef cooked to order with cheddar cheese, guacamole, refried beans, jalapenos, lettuce and a mayonnaise

The first Juicy Lucy opened in El Poblado in 2012.  Juicy Lucy now has three locations in Medellín:

• El Poblado: Carrera 37 # 8A-32
• El Poblado: Calle 24 # 48-28 in Mercado del Rio
• Envigado: Plaza Pakita

5. Fellini Hamburguesas Gourmet

Fellini is another restaurant in Medellín specializing in gourmet burgers.  It has over 20 different hamburgers on its menu so it wins the prize for the biggest selection of burgers.

Fellini’s burgers range in price from 15,100 to 31,900 pesos.  And the price includes fries and homemade sauces.  In addition to burgers, Fellini has steaks, chicken, pasta, soups and salads.

Fellini traces its roots back to 1987. And it rebranded to its current name of Fellini in 2011.  It currently has two locations in Medellín:

• El Poblado: Carrera 37 # 10B-04
• El Centro: Plaza Mayor Convention Center

6. Grill Station Burger

Grill Station Burger is a gourmet burger restaurant that opened in 2012.  Grill Station reportedly only uses Brangus beef in its hamburgers.  At Grill Station, you can “build” your own custom burger by choosing the ingredients:

• Meats – 150 grams or 220 grams of beef, bacon
• Cheeses – mozzarella, cheddar, provolone
• Sauces – Honey BBQ, Mayo-chipotle, Jack Daniels, pepper jam, papaya jam, guacamole, caramelized onions, blue cheese, Philadelphia cheese
• Vegetables – mushrooms, pickles, jalapeños, aquacate
• Sides – French fries, rustic fries, yuccas, salad

The price for your custom burger at Grill Station depends on how many ingredients.  The last time I ate at Grill Station my custom burger with fries cost 22,300 pesos.

In addition to custom burgers, Grill Station also has 18 different beef burgers on the menu.  These range in price from 14,000 to 24,900 pesos.

Grill Station has two locations (thanks to a reader for providing the address of the second location that isn’t on the company’s website):

• El Poblado: Calle 53 #73-22.
• Laureles: near Laureles Parque Segundo at Cicular 76 #73B-176.

7. Medellín Burger Company

Medellín Burger Company (MBC) is yet another burger restaurant in Medellín with good American-style burgers.  It has nine different beef burgers on the menu that range in price from 19,900 to 23,000 pesos.  In addition, the burgers are available in a combo for an additional 5,500 pesos with French fries and a soda.  Two of my favorite burgers at MBC are:

• MBC burger – beef cooked to order with grilled Portobello mushrooms, caramelized onions, mozzarella cheese, grilled peppers, lettuce and tomatoes.
• American burger – beef cooked to order with bacon, caramelized onions, mix of cheddar and mozzarella cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

In addition to burgers, MBC also has steaks, ribs, chicken wings and sandwiches.

MBC opened its first restaurant in Laureles in 2014. And it now has two locations in Medellín:

• Laureles: La 70 Circular 4 # 12
• Envigado: Carrera 44A #31 Sur 18

8. Burger World

Burger World is a small neighborhood burger restaurant that opened in 2014 with some good burgers. It is located in El Poblado and is near Parque Lleras.  It has 13 different beef burgers on the menu that are priced from 12,900 to 19,500 pesos. They have a country theme with several burgers named for countries. And for an extra 5,000 pesos you can add fries and a soda.

Two of my favorite burgers at Burger World are:

• Mexico – 150 grams of beef cooked to order with mozzarella cheese, jalapeños, ground nachos, guacamole, lettuce and tomatoes.
• USA – 150 grams of beef cooked to order with bacon, American cheese, cheddar cheese sauce, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes.

Burger World only has a single location: El Poblado: Carrera 37 # 10A-64

9. Jack & Roll

Jack & Roll is a small neighborhood restaurant in Envigado on Calle de la Buena Mesa.  It has some great burgers in my experience.  They have seven beef burgers on the menu, priced at 21,000 to 24,000 pesos.  That price includes French fries, rustic fries, onion rings or vegetables.

Two of my favorite burgers at Jack & Roll are:

• Jack BBQ – 180 grams of beef caramelized in Jack BBQ sauce cooked to order with a touch of Jack Daniel’s, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, onion rings, lettuce and tomatoes.
• Pepper Jack – 180 grams of beef cooked to order with bacon, breaded squid, pepper jack cheese, cheddar cheese, onions, lettuce and tomatoes.

In addition to burgers, Jack & Roll also has several other items on the menu including steaks, fish, chicken and sandwiches.

Jack & Roll only has a single location: Envigado: Calle 30 Sur # 44A-24.

10. Monsieur Burger

I went to lunch to Monsieur Burger not too long ago with an expat who recommended it due to having good burgers.  At Monsieur Burger, all the burgers are made to order and you build the burger by phase.

• Phase 1 – decide on bread – traditional or rustic – and single beef (125 grams) or double beef (250 grams) cooked to order. Also includes lettuce, onions and tomatoes. (12,000 pesos and add 4,000 pesos for double beef).
• Phase 2 – decide on sauces: Monsieur, tartar, Dijon, or blue (2,000 pesos per sauce)
• Phase 3 – decide on additions: cheddar cheese, bacon, jalapenos, sweet pickles (2,000 pesos each)
• Phase 4 – decide on accompaniments – French fries or salad (5,000 pesos each).

Monsieur Burger has sodas for 3,000 pesos and beers for 4,000 pesos.

Monsieur Burger only has a single location: El Poblado: Calle 8 # 43A-89.

11. Patrick’s Irish Pub

Patrick’s Irish Pub is a popular bar in Parque Lleras with some great burgers.  They have six different beef burgers on the menu and I have eaten their burgers several times that are very good.  The burgers cost from 28,000 to 40,000 pesos.  All the hamburgers at Patrick’s come with fries. Or the option of onion rings for 3,000 pesos extra.

Two of my favorite burgers at Patrick’s Irish Pub are:

• Shamrock – beef cooked to order with mushrooms, caramelized onions, Swiss cheese and lettuce.
• Western BBQ – beef cooked to order with bacon, cheddar cheese, onion rings and BBQ sauce.

Patrick’s has a big menu that also includes wings, Irish food, pizzas, soups and salads.  They also have a huge drink menu with one of the largest varieties in the city of imported beers, whiskeys and many other drinks.

Patrick’s Irish Pub only has a single location: El Poblado: Carrera 37A # 8A-43.

12. Tasty’s

A friend living in Belén took me to Tasty’s a few months ago and I’m glad he did.  Tasty’s is a small neighborhood burger place in Belén with good burgers for a good price.

Tasty’s has a simple menu.  The burgers at Tasty’s cost 9,500 pesos or 13,000 pesos with double meat. The burgers all come with lettuce, tomatoes and onions.  It’s an extra 2,000 pesos for cheese and an extra 2,000 pesos for bacon.  And French fries cost 4,000 pesos. Tasty’s fries with bacon, cheddar cheese and ranch dressing cost 6,500 pesos.

Tasty’s only has a single location: Belén: Carrera 70 # 32-82.

Burger Master Promotion – Today is Last Day

There are currently 30 restaurants in Medellín participating in a Burger Master promotion sponsored by the Tulio mobile app. This is trying to identify the “best burgers” in Medellín based on reviews.

With this promotion, you can buy a “promotion” burger at participating restaurants for only 10,000 pesos ($3.40). And some restaurants are offering combos with the “promotion” burger, fries and a beer for 15,000 pesos ($5.09).

The first seven days of the promotion, the 30 restaurants participating reportedly sold over 100,000 hamburgers.  During the promotion, some of the restaurants are only offering their “promotion” burger. And I have seen lines to get into several of the restaurants. For example, last night I saw a line of over 70 waiting to get into Jack & Roll in Envigado.

The promotion runs from June 5 to June 16, so today is the last day. Several of the burger places listed in the list above are participating in this promotion including Barbacoa, Burger World, Jack & Roll, Juicy Lucy, Monsieur Burger and Tasty’s.

But some of the best burgers places in the city aren’t participating in this Burger Master promotion.  I suspect this is because they didn’t want to participate at the low 10,000-peso price.  So, the results should be questioned.  In addition, I haven’t been to all 30 restaurants participating in this Burger Master promotion. So, it’s possible that one or more should be included in my above list.

The Bottom Line – Best Burgers in Medellín

There are over 40 different restaurants offering burgers in Medellín that are typically better than the burgers found at the fast food places. I have been to well over 20 of them over the past several years and chose 12 of my favorites in the above list. These include several gourmet burger chains specializing in burgers, several small local burger restaurants, an Irish pub with good burgers and even a rib chain that has an excellent burger.

The bottom line is that Medellín has many places with good burgers.

Please let us know if you know of any places missing from this list with good burgers.  We are happy to try them and update the list.

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Colombia opened up its telecommunications industry in 1991. So the country has a relatively modern telecommunications infrastructure with several Colombian cell phone competitors. The mobile market has been one of the fastest growing industries in Colombia with the country having more cell phones than people.

For mobile phone services, Colombia has three main competitors and several smaller mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that use one of the main competitor’s networks.

Claro, the local Colombia brand of Mexico-based América Móvil, is the largest telecommunications provider in Colombia. The company has the largest wireless network and typically has the best wireless network coverage throughout the country, including the smaller pueblos.

Colombia has two additional major mobile competitors in Colombia: Movistar, the local Colombia brand of Spain-based Telefónica; and Tigo, the local brand of Sweden-based Millicom.

Colombia also has several smaller MVNOs, including: Virgin Mobile (which uses Movistar’s network and has over 1 million subscribers) and several others that I understand use Tigo’s network including Exito, Uff!, and ETB, each with relatively small subscriber bases.

Cell phone operators have rolled out 4G networks over the past few years. And many Colombian cell phones users now use 4G instead of slower 3G networks.

Buying Colombian Cell Phones

You can purchase unlocked cell phones in any major city in Colombia, both smartphones as well as basic function phones. You can also purchase used phones. But make sure you do so from a reputable vendor, as some places sell stolen phones. You can also buy cell phones through mobile service providers.

To buy Colombian cell phones most vendors typically will require an ID, either a passport or Colombian cedula ID.

Each of the three major mobile phone providers has stores in most of the malls in the cities in Colombia. They also have smaller kiosks set up in many grocery stores such as Exito and Jumbo. If you buy a phone from Claro, Movistar or Tigo they provide prepaid (prepago) and postpaid (postpago) options.

A prepaid phone will be more expensive as it doesn’t require a contract and it will be pay-as-you-go, adding minutes when you need to. A postpaid phone will be cheaper (subsidized) but will require signing a contract and also will require a Colombian ID (cedula).

I personally would recommend against buying a cell phone in one of the Claro, Movistar or Tigo stores as you can find cheaper cell phones in other locations.

In Medellín, two good places to buy cell phones are Monterrey, Medellin’s technology mall, or in El Centro.

Monterrey has several stores selling cell phones. In 2014 bought a new unlocked Samsung S5 Mini in a store in Monterrey with a price of 900,000 pesos ($379 at the time). On Amazon, the same unlocked cell phone was selling for $326.29. Cell phones are somewhat more expensive in Colombia than in the US.

Another good place to buy cell phones is in El Centro behind the Nutibara hotel. Behind the hotel is Centro Comercial Opera, which is a small mall with many small shops in the mall and nearby that specialize in selling cell phones.

You can find vendors selling both new and used cell phones here. It is possible to find a basic function cell phones starting at about 30,000 pesos ($10) and Android smart phones starting at about 250,000 pesos ($86) or even cheaper.

In late 2016, I bought a used unlocked dual-SIM Samsung J3 in Centro Comercial Opera and only paid $100.

Using Cell Phones from Other Countries

Many mobile providers in other countries have roaming agreements set up in Colombia, so if you have international roaming set up on your cell phone it will work in Colombia, but it will also typically be expensive.

If your cell phone is unlocked it is very inexpensive at less than $2 to buy a SIM for any of mobile providers in Colombia.

On occasion, I have also seen representatives of Claro, Movistar and Tigo handing out free SIMs outside a few of the metro stations in Medellín, trying to get metro passengers to switch mobile providers.

Be careful of buying a SIM from a non-mobile phone provider store, as it likely will be registered in the store name. I recommend registering a SIM in your name so you can keep the same phone number if your phone is lost or stolen.

To use an unlocked cell phone in Colombia, keep in mind that GSM 850 and 1900 bands are used in Colombia. If your unlocked cell phone has GSM 850 and 1900 bands it should work in Colombia. A CDMA phone will not work in Colombia. In the US, both Verizon and Sprint use CDMA.

An unlocked GGSM quad band phone is a good choice for Colombia and other countries. The most widely used cell phone technology in the world is Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), which is used in over 200 countries and territories.

If you bring an unlocked phone to any of the Claro, Movistar or Tigo stores they can install a SIM and configure the phone.

Starting in 2016, to activate/register cell phones bought elsewhere (from outside of Colombia or purchased in a non-Claro/Movistar/Tigo store) you may be required to show a receipt to prove it wasn’t stolen.  To register the used Samsung J3 phone I bought in late 2016 with Claro I had to provide a receipt proving that I purchased the phone.

Earlier this year when I arrived in Bogotá from an international location I saw on the monitors in Migracion a notice that to activate/register a cell phone brought to Colombia you now need to provide a receipt to prove the phone was purchased and not stolen.

Colombia’s New Regulations to Combat Cell Phone Theft

Colombia is trying to combat cell phone theft in the country.  There are now several regulations in place in Colombia that weren’t in place back in 2014.

In 2015, Colombia restricted the importing of cell phones via mail services under Decree 2025.  So, you no longer could buy a cell phone on Amazon and ship it to Colombia.  Official registered cell phone importers could continue to import cell phones but they needed to supply the Ministry of Information and Communications the IMEI of every cell phone that they were importing into the country prior to the approval of the import declaration.

In December 2016, Colombia issued the new Decree 2142, which permits one cell phone to be imported via postal services, as long as it complies with custom regulations, including listing the IMEI number of the cell phone.  The addressee in Colombia must also be a person.  You are also permitted to bring up to three cell phones with you when entering Colombia.

Another new regulation is that IMEI numbers of all Colombian cell phones must now be registered.  When an mobile provider encounters a non-registered IMEI, it will search if it is available in the positive database.  This is a database of all the cell phones in Colombia registered by users with the mobile providers. If the cell phone is not in this database, the operator will contact the user via text message to register the cell phone in less than 15 days, with the receipt of the cell phone to prove you own the phone.

You can register cell phones at the stores of any of the mobile providers when you buy a SIM.  You will need a cedula or passport to register a phone. Most stores will also ask for a receipt for the cell phone to prove you own the cell phone.

Using Cell Phones in Colombia

Making calls from one provider (Claro, for example) to another (Movistar or Tigo) is more expensive than making calls between the same provider (Claro to Claro, Tigo to Tigo, Movistar to Movistar). So, you might want to find out what provider most of your friends use before deciding on a mobile provider.

It is also important understand that in Colombia only the person initiating a mobile phone call will be charged for the call, the receiving party is not charged for the call.

This has resulted in the infamous ‘one ring’ phone call where someone calls another person, lets it ring once, hangs up, and then waits for the other person to ‘return’ the call; this is normally done when someone has little credit on their phone to make calls.

Claro has the most mobile subscribers in the Colombia so Claro is a good choice for many people. I have used Claro since I started traveling to Colombia in 2006. For people that have traveled to Colombia for several years, Claro previously was known as Comcel until they rebranded.

To call a Colombia landline from a Colombia cell phone, you dial:

03 + area code of city + landline number

Where the area codes for major cities in Colombia are:

• Barranquilla – 5
• Bogotá – 1
• Cali – 2
• Cartagena – 5
• Medellín – 4
• Pereira – 6

To call a Colombia cell phone from a Colombia landline, you dial:

03 + cell phone number

Keep in mind that calls between landlines and cell phones are fairly expensive; it’s cheaper and easier to communicate between cell phones.

To call a US phone from a Colombian cell phone (Claro), you dial:

00444 + 1 + area code + phone number

To call a Colombian cell phone from the US, you dial:

011 + 57 + phone number

Text messages are considered data in Colombia and cost extra to send. That is why WhatsApp is very popular in Colombia with people sending messages using WhatsApp when connected to Wi-Fi. Many of the malls and cafes in Colombia have free Wi-Fi.

You can recharge cell phones in Colombia in many places, including mobile provider stores, grocery stores and many street corners.

Earlier this year we also provided a list of the top 15 mobile apps to use in Medellín.

Using Colombian Cell Phones Internationally

You can also use a Colombian cell phones internationally if you set them up for roaming. I have my Claro cell phone set up for international roaming and I have used it throughout Latin America and the US.

Claro is part of Mexican telecommunications giant América Móvil. It has roaming agreements established in over 100 countries throughout the world. To set up international roaming, I had to go to a Claro store to sign some paperwork.

Both Movistar and Tigo also offer international roaming. But Tigo’s international roaming works in fewer countries than Claro or Movistar.

The Bottom Line: Colombian Cell Phones

There are several mobile provider options in Colombia with pretty intense competition that helps keep prices relatively low. It is very easy to get prepaid Colombian cell phones set up and easy to recharge cell phones.

Claro is the biggest telecommunications provider in Colombia. It has the largest mobile network and the most customers, so it likely it the best choice for most foreigners traveling to Colombia.

Also make sure to use common sense when using expensive smart phones like iPhones in Colombia. Smart phones are a very common target for thieves.

For example, it is not recommended walking around El Centro in Medellín brandishing an iPhone. A common expression in Colombia is “no dar papaya” or don’t give opportunity. Brandishing a smart phone in El Centro is an example of “dar papaya.”

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This post provides an update with our Medellín cost of living for a couple from January to March this year.

The relatively low Medellín cost of living is one of the reasons I started living in the city after I discovered it many years ago. I have now been living in Medellín for nearly seven years.  In my opinion, the nearly perfect weather and the quality of life in Medellín, for the cost, are very challenging to beat.

I am often asked what the Medellín cost of living is, so I track our expenses every month. Dave also previously shared his Medellín cost of living in 2013 as a single guy living in a shared apartment in Medellín.  And Sonja recently shared her cost of living in 2017 as a single woman living in a shared apartment in the city.

Improved Exchange Rate

The improved exchange rate for the Colombian peso makes the Medellín cost of living lower in terms of U.S. dollars compared to prior to early-2015

The Colombian peso exchange rate has been in a range from 2,849 to 3,002 pesos to the US dollar, so far in 2017.  This is much higher than the exchange rate was every year prior to early-2015.

The exchange rate fluctuates on a daily basis. I track the exchange rate. And I tend to exchange more money when the rate is higher. So, my average exchange rate is typically higher than the actual average.

A Word About Our Standard of Living

First I would like to share some insight into our standard of living, because more than anything, this is what will affect a person’s Medellín cost of living.

I live with my Colombian wife in Sabaneta (a southern suburb of Medellín) in an estrato 4 neighborhood. We live in a nice 110-square-meter, three-bedroom apartment in a high-rise in Sabaneta.

This 2017 Medellín cost of living for a couple article details our costs for a couple living together in the city.

* The exchange rate fluctuates each day; my average exchange rate from January to March was 2,950 pesos to the USD. This is the exchange rate used in this post – except for apartment rental which was prepaid for a year in July last year using money exchanged an exchange rate of 3,300 pesos to the USD.

Our Monthly Medellín Cost of Living

Apartment rent = 1,340,000 pesos ($406)

Apartment rent is our biggest monthly expense. This is a net price as we rent out our parking space, as we don’t have a car.

I have been renting unfurnished apartments while living Medellín for over nearly seven years. My initial experience in renting apartments in Medellín was documented in a four part series: first part is here, second part is here, third part is here and fourth part is here.

We currently live in a three-bedroom apartment in Sabaneta, which we moved into in July 2015.  It is located within walking distance to Parque Sabaneta. Our current apartment specifications include:

• Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, about 110 square meters (1,184 square feet)
• Kitchen with granite countertops, oven, and gas cooktop
• Gas water heater (tankless)
• Upper floor in a high-rise building, with two balconies
• Pool, sauna and small gym in building
• 24×7 security
• Estrato 4 neighborhood

I prepaid for a year of rent last year that is good until the end of June this year. The exchange rate for the funds I used to prepay last year was 3,300 pesos to the USD, which makes our monthly cost $406 per month.

Groceries = 769,527 pesos ($261)

Groceries are our second biggest expense in Medellín as a couple living together. We cook at home frequently. And we shop at an Exito grocery store, which is conveniently located a 10-minute walk from our apartment.

About every six weeks we also shop at PriceSmart, which has good prices for several items purchased in bulk.  We have shopped at PriceSmart since it opened in December 2014.

Our monthly costs for groceries in terms of pesos have dropped compared to 2014.  This is due to shopping at a nearby D1 Tienda for some staples and also a local butcher shop, with both having lower prices than Exito.

This category also includes our expenses for drugstore items like toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner.

Medical = 473,950 pesos ($161)

Our medical costs during the year include medical insurance for my wife. It also includes contacts I purchased plus a few trips to the dentist, as well as drugs purchased at drugstores.

I decided to “go naked” last year without medical insurance in Colombia. I am in good health and have medical insurance in the U.S. as a backup.  Costs of medical care are also very low in Medellín in my experience.

But I am planning to get medical insurance in Colombia later this year and drop my coverage in the U.S. since I rarely go there anymore.

Dining = 455,961 pesos ($155)

We eat out at nice restaurants in Medellín typically a couple times each month. Several times each month when we are too tired to go out or cook, we also order takeout (domicillio) from nearby restaurants or fast food places.

We have found that the restaurants in Sabaneta in general are less expensive than in some other areas in Medellín like El Poblado or Laureles.

Each month we also sometimes eat lunch at small restaurants near our apartment, which typically have inexpensive Colombian food. Set lunches (menu del dia) in these small restaurants typically costs just $2 – $5 per person.

Ground transportation = 314,383 pesos ($107)

This includes costs for using the metro, buses and taxies. We don’t have a car.

We live within easy walking distance to Parque Sabaneta and Aves Maria mall with an Exito and Cinamas Procinal movie theater. There are many small shops, restaurants and bars within walking distance from our apartment.

In front of our apartment we can catch a bus that costs 1,900 pesos to go to the Sabaneta metro station in about 10 minutes.

We can also catch a bus in front of Exito that costs 2,000 or 2,100 pesos to go to the Santafé mall in El Poblado, taking about 30 minutes during non-rush hour; or a bus that costs 1,900 pesos to go Mayorca mall with a major expansion that opened in December 2015, that takes only 15 minutes.

Clothing = 291,467 pesos ($99)

This category over January to March this year has been for a few clothing items my wife purchased.

Miscellaneous = 287,767 pesos ($98)

This general category is miscellaneous things.  This includes like some small items we purchased for our apartment in Sabaneta, laundry expenses plus an Amazon Prime membership.

Several times each year I buy some things on Amazon that are much cheaper or difficult to find in Colombia. Many items purchased on Amazon will ship for free to Miami where I have a mailing service that forwards to Medellín for a relatively low cost.

Triple-play Internet/TV/phone services = 173,249 pesos ($59)

We have triple-play services provided by Claro with 10-MB Internet, several hundred TV channels for two TVs, including many channels in HD and some in English. And this also includes free local landline telephone calls.

We pay a lower rate for triple-play services in an estrato 4 neighborhood than would be found in estrato 5 or 6 neighborhoods.

Our rate was lower than this during the first year living in our apartment in Sabaneta due to a promotion Claro was having for a new installation.  Claro has now increased the price to the normal price for estrato 4.

Pets = 162,100 pesos ($55)

In December 2013, we bought a Pomeranian dog and in 2016 we bought a Shih Tzu dog. So, we have ongoing pet expenses of dog food and vet services for two dogs.

In general, we have found that vet services and prices in pet stores in Sabaneta are cheaper than in Belén where we used to live.

Mail services = 134,867 ($46)

I use the Mail Boxes Etc. Ebox service in Medellín. This Ebox service provides a mailbox in Medellin linked to a mailing service in Miami. This is the solution I use to reliably receive US mail (letters and packages) in Medellín.

With this service, I get a mailing address in Miami and any mail received at this address in Miami is forwarded to Medellín. This service costs $14 per month and includes a 1-kilogram package for free each month.

In the United States, I use a US Global Mail mailbox in Houston as my primary mailing address, which costs $12.50 per month and permits me to view items I have received online.

Every six weeks or so I typically send the mail received in my mailbox in the US to my address in Miami that is forwarded and shows up in Medellín about a week later.

Cell phone services = 124,164 pesos ($42)

This is the cost for cellular services from Claro for two cell phones. We both now have pre-paid plans as we upgraded from post-paid plans to have more Internet access.  I also found that Claro’s pre-paid plan works better for international roaming.

Utilities (electric, gas and water) = 108,154 pesos ($37)

Utility services are provided by EPM, the local utility in Medellín. There is really no need for heating or cooling with the climate in Medellín, which results in relatively low utility bills.

We also live in an estrato 4 neighborhood, which has lower utility rates than are found in estrato 5 or 6 neighborhoods. In general, our utility services have been cheaper in Sabaneta than when we lived in a smaller apartment in Belén.

Entertainment = 50,167 pesos ($17)

This includes expenses for going to movie theaters, bars, discotecas and concerts. We typically incur entertainment expenses a couple times each month.

Hair care = 32,000 pesos ($11)

It only costs me 11,000 pesos (<$4) including tip to get my haircut at a barbershop near our apartment. My wife gets her hair done every few months.

Other categories

The three-month period from January to March this year didn’t include some categories we normally have.

For example, vacation trips are missing.  But in December last year we went to Curaçao on vacation for 10 days.  This vacation trip cost about $3,000, since it was during a peak travel time between Christmas and New Year’s.  Each year we normally go on vacation once or twice.

Previously I included a computer and electronics category. But we didn’t buy any computer or electronics items from January to March.  The only computer and electronics purchase we have planned this year is toner cartridges for a color laser printer.

Also, not included above are Colombian income taxes.  Last year I had to pay some Colombian income taxes in July  for 2015. And I expect I will need to pay less Colombian income taxes this year for 2016.

I also previously had visa and cedula expenses that before were once a year expenses. I now have a visa and cedula good for three years so I won’t incur this expense again until 2018.

Our monthly spending over the past two years including every category has averaged less than $2,000 per month.

This is down from around $3,000 per month when I looked at our spending in 2014. But our standard of living hasn’t really changed.

Inflation Impacts?

We are not really seeing much impact from the increased inflation in Colombia. Colombia experienced inflation of 5.75 percent in 2016, 6.77 percent in 2015 and 3.66 percent in 2014.

We have found that it is possible to change your behaviors and shopping locations to avoid many impacts of inflation.  For example, our grocery costs are now substantially lower than in 2014 in terms of pesos, even though inflation in groceries over the past three years has been higher than the overall inflation rate in Colombia.

I don’t know how much longer the exchange rate will stay at its current high rate. However, I believe our spending will likely average between $1,700 to $2,000 USD per month for most of the year, if the exchange rate stays between 2,800 to 3,000 pesos to the USD.

The Bottom Line: Medellín Cost of Living

Keep in mind it is certainly possible to live in Medellín for cheaper than we do.  Apartments are available in Medellín for much lower costs. But these aren’t necessarily located as conveniently as our apartment, nor have all the features.

The bottom line is that Medellín has a wide range of options for apartments available in a big range of prices (from less than $200 to well over $2,000 per month). These can meet the needs of a wide range of renters.

Our reader survey in December last year found that 66.2 percent of the 198 expats we surveyed living in Medellín have a monthly budget of less than $2,000 per month.  But 17.7 percent had a budget of $3,000 per month or more.

For a couple living on a shoestring budget, I believe this can be done in Medellín with the current exchange rate for less than $1,400 per month.

Or for a couple living in a top of the line luxury penthouse apartment in El Poblado, the most expensive neighborhood, this would likely result in a Medellín cost of living exceeding $4,000 per month.

Reminder: Join our Medellín Living June Meetup on June 8 at 7pm at Sport Wings located at Mayorca mall in Sabaneta. This meetup is a good way to meet other expats like Jeff living in Medellín as well as newcomers visiting or considering moving to the city.

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Whether you’ve just arrived in Medellín or have been here for years, you’re welcome to come to the Medellín Living meetups. It’s a great opportunity to get advice, swap travel stories, and meet like-minded people who share an interest in the city of eternal spring.

Our June meetup will be at the popular Sport Wings restaurant and bar, which features some of the best wings in Medellín. It’s located in the new phase of Mayorca mall that is conveniently located next to the Itagüí metro station.

It’s a great place to relax, have a drink, eat some great wings and enjoy sports playing on the big screen TVs. Sport Wings is a chain of six sports bars in Medellín and we chose their Mayorca location, due to it being one of their biggest. In addition, since this is located in a mall, you can also do some shopping before the meetup.

Our Medellín Living June meetup isn’t a sponsored event, so attendees must pay for their own food and drinks. The above photo of Sport Wings at Mayorca mall is courtesy of Sport Wings.

Date: Thursday, June 8, 2017, 7:00pm to 10:30pm

Sport Wings is located on the fourth floor in the new phase of Mayorca mall that opened in December 2015. In addition, it’s local 4063 and is found at the southeast corner of this floor that has a big open area.

The newest phase of Mayorca is located across a pedestrian bridge across Avenida Las Vegas from the old Mayorca mall that is located right next to Itagüí metro station. So, Mayorca is an easy 2-minute walk on a pedestrian bridge from the Itagüí metro station.

Please RSVP for the Medellín Living June Meetup

This June meetup is a great way to network and meet others with common interests and hobbies. It also gives long-time Medellín residents a chance to share their knowledge and help out those who are new to the city.

You’ll also have a chance to meet some of the Medellín Living writers, including Jeff, Alan and Sonja. Maybe you can suggest an idea for a story you would like to see them write for Medellín Living. Also don’t forget to invite your friends and like and share the event on Facebook!

If you plan to attend, please RSVP so we know how many tables to reserve at Sport Wings! You can RSVP on Facebook here, or below in the comments if you are not on Facebook.  Or you can RSVP via our new Medellin Living group on Meetup.com

About Sport Wings

Sport Wings is a popular chain of sports bars in Medellín that are owned by a group of five Colombian partners.  Sport Wings currently has six locations in the city.  Each location has big screen TVs that enable watching sports around the world as they have DIRECTV.  Sport Wings also has some great chicken wings, which are my personal favorites that I have found in the city.

The Mayorca location where we are having our June meetup has a large bar and some high tables with high chairs that will facilitate socializing.

Sport Wings has a full bar with a wide variety of drink options. They offer a good choice of beers, including Heineken, Sol, Coors Light, Buckler, Club Colombia, Aguila and Pilsen. Their cocktail selection includes margaritas and margaritas with Corona as well as a special Sport Wings cocktail.

Sport Wings also serves five different wines as well as two varieties of sangria. There are also a fair number of rums, whiskeys, tequila, aguardiente, gin and other liquors to choose from.  They also have sodas, natural fruit juices, two types of lemonade and bottled water.

In addition, Sport Wings has a number of food options on their menu. Most popular are the chicken wings that come with an option of 14 different sauces ranging from mild to hot. The main dishes include chicken wings, hamburgers, ribs and a few Mexican dishes.

There is also a wide selection of appetizers and snacks, such as cheese sticks, quesadillas, nachos and mini-hamburgers. There are also three desserts on the menu.

Our Medellín Living Meetups

In response to popular demand, Medellín Living restarted its meetups in January of 2017 after a two-year hiatus.  Most noteworthy is that the new Medellin Living meetups have been a huge success, growing steadily from one month to the next. We had over 100 attendees at out May meetup in Laureles at Del Patio Restaurant and Bar!

You can also see several photos of our May meetup below that were taken by a professional photographer. And we are expecting another big turnout next month in Sabaneta!

Our plan is to rotate our meetups each month between El Pobaldo, Envigado, Sabaneta and Laureles, which are the four most popular neighborhoods for expats living in Medellín.

The idea is to encourage expats to experience different parts of the city. Our July meetup is tentatively planned for Envigado and for August we are planning in El Poblado. Details will be posted on this site around two to three weeks before the planned meetups.

Note: there isn’t any extra fee required to attend Medellín Living meetups and no membership is required.

We now have two new ways for our readers to keep up with Medellín Living events. You can follow us on our new Medellin Living Events & Activities Facebook group or via our new Medellin Living group on Meetup.com.

Photos of our May Meetup at Del Patio

The following are seven photos of our May Meetup at Del Patio in Laureles.  These were taken by Jenny Bojinova, a professional photographer living in Medellín, who offers her services as a photographer in the city.

You can see more photos from our May meetup taken by Jenny here.

About Jenny Bojinova

Jenny gave up the corporate world to pursue her passion in Photography. She grew up in Bulgaria and she was educated at Cambridge, UK and Italy. She has worked within the IT industry in Bulgaria, India and Netherlands. Ever since her childhood Jenny has been traveling far from home and taking pictures as a hobby. At the moment, Jenny is based in Medellin, Colombia and she is very happy to offer her services as a Photographer.

For more information you can visit her website at: www.jennybojinova.com

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Medellín technically has a tropical rain-forest climate that borders on a subtropical highland climate.  Because of the elevation, it’s not as hot in Medellín as other cites at the same latitude close to the equator.

However, at times it can get hot in Medellín.  The all-time record high in Medellín was reportedly 100.4 °F (38 °C).  Medellín also has two rainy seasons when it can rain 21 or more days each month.

In this article, we look at the weather in Medellín in detail including temperature ranges, temperatures in different neighborhoods, the typical rainfall and humidity in the city.

Temperatures by Month in Medellín

Medellín’s average annual temperature is 72.5 °F (22.5 °C). The average temperature in the city during the year typically only varies by about 1 °F.  During an average day in the city the temperature typically ranges from 63.2 to 82.1 °F (17.4 to 27.8 °C).

The average temperature per month as well as the average high and average low temperatures per month can be seen in the following table:

Temperatures by Neighborhood

Not everyone is aware that the temperature in different neighborhoods in the Medellín metro area typically varies by up to 4 degrees Celsius or over 7 degrees Fahrenheit for the high temperature of the day.

El Centro is the neighborhood that normally has the warmest high temperature during the day. While several neighborhoods popular with foreigners can have lower temperatures.  To demonstrate this I looked at the temperature in several neighborhoods in the city at 3pm yesterday.

I used the Ciudadanos Cientificos mobile app used to monitor pollution sensors in the city.  These pollution sensors also report the current temperature.  The following table shows what I found:

So, at 3 pm while it was 81.21 °F in El Centro it was only 74.25 °F in Sabaneta near Parque Sabaneta, almost 7 °F cooler.  In El Pobaldo at Ciudad del Rio it was 5.7 °F cooler than in El Centro. And up the hills in Sabaneta and El Poblado it’s typically another 2 degrees’ Fahrenheit cooler.

While this is just one sample and isn’t scientific, I have looked at this mobile app many times in the afternoon and it’s normally 5-8 degree’s Fahrenheit cooler in Sabaneta and El Poblado than in El Centro.  El Centro tends to have the highest temperature in the metro area. You can use this mobile app yourself to see the pollution level and temperature at sensors throughout the city.

This demonstrates that it is possible to choose a neighborhood to live in Medellín with lower high temperatures.  The lower parts of the valley like El Centro and Laureles-Estadio tend to have higher temperatures.  For example, I have met some expats living in Laureles-Estadio that have air-conditioning.

Up the hills in El Poblado, Envigado and Sabeneta temperatures can be noticeably cooler (up to about 9-10 °F cooler) than in El Centro.  And further up the hills in areas like Rionegro near the international airport the temperature is even cooler.

Rainfall by Month in Medellín

Medellín has two rainy seasons during the year: April to May and September to November as seen in the following table.

During these rainiest months, it typically rains at least 21 days each month.  But keep in mind when it rains in Medellín this is normally a relatively short shower.  And it doesn’t necessarily rain in all the neighborhoods in the city at the same time or same day.  It also rarely rains for an extended period in the city.

The driest months in Medellín are typically December, January, February and March.

I almost always carry a small umbrella with me in a backpack.  In my experience, you never know when it may rain in the city or in a particular neighborhood.  And the weather forecasts for Medellín are frequently inaccurate.

Humidity by Month in Medellín

The average humidity for the year in Medellín is 67.5 percent.  The average humidity each month in the city ranges from 62.6 percent to 71.7 percent as seen in the following table.

Average Daily Sunshine Hours by Month

For the entire year, Medellín averages 5.1 sunshine hours per day.  Each month this average number of sunshine days varies from 4.1 to 6.4 sunshine hours per day as seen in the following table:

The Bottom Line: Weather and Climate

Medellín is famous for having a spring-like climate year-round.  The weather is a benefit of living in the city since it is possible to live without heating or air-conditioning.  I have lived nearly seven years in the city without heating or air-conditioning.  I only have a few fans at home.  And I am now completely spoiled by the climate and dislike going places with cold temperatures and snow or hot temperatures.

Keep in mind that temperatures in the city can vary by neighborhood as seen in the above article.  So it is possible to chose a place to live or stay that has lower high temperatures during the day.

The rainiest months in Medellín are normally April to May and September to November.  So, if you are planning a visit to the city and want to avoid many days with some rain, these months should be avoided.

But my father visited earlier this month during the rainy season and he liked the weather. He really didn’t experience much rain, as it didn’t rain every day. And when it rained, the rain was typically for no more than a few hours.  Even during the rainy season, it averages over four sunshine hours per day.

During the rainy season the weather forecast may be for rain every day.  But what this actually means is that it may rain for a few hours but normally not everywhere in the city.

What do you think about the weather and climate in Medellín?

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Medellín has eight of the best hospitals in all of Latin America, which positions the city well for medical tourism.  Colombia has been experiencing an increase in medical tourism, particularly in Medellín and Bogotá.

Foreigners have been slowly discovering the benefits of having surgeries in Colombia where the costs can be much lower, yet there are highly qualified and skilled surgeons in Colombia.  The salaries of doctors in Colombia also can be a fraction of the salaries found in the U.S., even though doctors are typically required to have similar education and skills.

This site has previously only looked at one of the best hospitals in Medellín, Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe. Several readers asked us to cover more of the hospitals in Medellín.  So in this article, we now look at the eight best hospitals in Medellín.

The above photo is of Clínica las Américas, by SajoR.

Medellín has 8 of the Best Hospitals in Latin America

A recent study by América Economia found that Medellín has 8 of the top 44 hospitals in Latin America. These eight best hospitals in Medellín with their Latin American rankings by América Economia are:

1. Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe (#9)
2. Hospital Universitario de San Vicente Fundación (#16)
3. Clínica las Américas (#20)
4. Hospital General de Medellín (#29)
5. Clínica Universitaria Bolivariana (#33)
6. Clínica Medellín (#37)
7. Clínica El Rosario (#41)
8. Clínica Cardio Vid (#42)

Out of all the cities in Colombia and the rest of Latin America, only Bogotá has more hospitals on this best hospitals list.  Bogotá has nine hospitals on the list.  In fact, 48 percent of the hospitals on this list of the best hospitals in Latin American are found in Colombia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks Colombia’s health system as #22 out of 191 countries it ranked.  This is ahead of Germany (#25), Canada (#30), Australia (#32) and the United States (#37).  Furthermore, no countries in Latin America were ranked better than Colombia by WHO in terms of health systems.

1. Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe

Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe is currently ranked the best hospital in Medellín. The private Catholic non-profit hospital is located in the Robledo neighborhood of Medellín. It was founded in 1970 and had 371 beds until a recent expansion reportedly increased this to 650 beds. In addition, it has an intensive care unit with over 70 beds.

Besides being a general hospital, this hospital also specializes in renal and cancer care, bariatric surgery, and pediatrics. The hospital is also a university hospital.  Students receive training in medicine, nursing, nutrition, psychology and microbiology.

Pablo Tobón Uribe also has a special department that handles foreign patients including handling insurance and language and communications with medical practitioners in a patient’s home country. The hospital has several doctors that speak English as well as trained medical interpreters.

This hospital was previously reviewed on this site in 2014 by Larry, a patient.

Address: Calle 78 B # 69-240, Medellín

2. Hospital Universitario de San Vicente Fundación

Hospital Universitario de San Vicente Fundación is currently ranked the second-best hospital in Medellín. The private hospital is located on a campus in the Seville neighborhood of Medellín next to the Hospital metro station.  It was founded in 1913 and currently has 662 beds and 15 operating rooms at this location. The beds in the hospital are typically over 90 percent occupied. It also has intensive care units that can handle 45 adults plus many additional children and infants.

The hospital is one of the largest and most important hospitals in Colombia and Latin America. It treats over 25,000 patients per year and has over 200,000 medical appointments per year. Furthermore, it handles over 16,000 surgeries per year.

The hospital has three specialty-centers: Cardiopulmonary and Peripheral Vascular Center, Digestive Diseases Center, and an Organ and Tissue Transplant Center.  It also has a special Infant Hospital that opened in 1961.

In 2011, San Vicente opened a new health complex in Rionegro near the international airport. The new complex has a cardiopulmonary and vascular system center, a digestive disease center, an oncology center and emergency center plus a transplant and tissue center. It has 180 hospital beds of which 35 are for intensive care.  A future planned expansion at this complex will add specialties for cancer, trauma, plastic surgery as well as 320 more beds.

Besides being a general hospital, San Vicente is very well known for transplants. The transplant group in the hospital performed the first bone marrow transplant in Latin America and the first trachea transplant in the world. The hospital also did the first kidney transplant, first liver transplant, first small intestine transplant, first esophagus transplant and first larynx transplant in Colombia (and second in the world).

San Vicente has done well over 4,000 transplants. Reportedly more than 50 percent of all transplants in Colombia are done in Medellin and almost 90 percent of those are performed at San Vicente Fundación.

Address: Calle 64 # 51D-154, Medellín

3. Clínica las Américas

Clínica las Américas is part of Grupo Empresarial Las Américas, which was organized in 1989 by a group of health professionals who had the ideal of building the best comprehensive health care center in the city.

The primary Clínica las Américas hospital center opened in 1993.  It is located in the La Mota barrio of the Belén neighborhood in Medellín, which is near the Enrique Olaya Herrera airport in Medellín. I used to live within walking distance to this hospital.  Recently Clínica las Américas opened a new clinic location in Loma del Escobero in Envigado.

Clínica las Américas currently has 340 beds and 16 operating rooms for general and specialized surgery. Among specialists and associates the hospital has a portfolio of more than 500 health professionals. It reportedly offers services in 77 different medical specialties and sub-specialties.

Address: Diagonal 75B # 2A-80/140, Medellín

4. Hospital General de Medellín

Hospital General de Medellín’s founding dates back to 1942 when it had only 20 beds.  The hospital currently has over 440 beds and eight operating rooms.

The public hospital is backed by the Medellín government. It offers inpatient services in a variety of specialties including cardiology, general surgery, plastic surgery, transplants, gynecology and obstetrics, internal medicine, pulmonology, neurology, neurosurgery, oncology, orthopedics, and pediatrics.

The hospital also provides adult critical care, pediatric, neonatal, obstetric and gynecological care as well as pediatric emergency services 24 hours a day.

Address: Carrera 48 # 32-102, Medellín

5. Clínica Universitaria Bolivariana

The Clínica Universitaria Bolivariana is part of the Pontificia Bolivariana University system. The hospital is part of the university’s processes of medical teaching and research. The hospital is located in Robledo. And it reportedly has 187 beds and seven operating rooms.

In 2013, the hospital opened a new maternal child unit named “Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria”

The hospital offers services of surgery hospitalization, emergency care, intensive care, outpatient, laboratory and imaging services as well as prevention programs. The hospital handles an average of over 4,500 births, 7,000 surgeries and 30,000 emergency consultations annually.

Address: Carrera 72B # 78B-50, Robledo, Medellín

6. Clínica Medellín

Clínica Medellín has three different hospitals in Medellín that are located in El Centro, El Poblado and its newest facility located in Belén, which opened in early 2014. The private hospital was founded in October 1947 with the goal to establish a clinic in Medellín that was similar is several ways to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Clínica Medellín offers a wide range of medical services in several areas including anesthesiology, cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, thoracic surgery, general surgery, plastic surgery, dermatology, physical medicine, gynecology, internal medicine, intensive care and critical care medicine, pulmonology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, pathology, pediatrics, radiology and urology.

Clínica Medellín also has an international patient office. This office satisfies the needs of foreign patients and their families, who require advice before their arrival to the city, during their stay and after their departure from the hospital.

• • Address El Centro: Calle 53 # 46 – 38
  • Address El Poblado: Calle 7 # 39 – 290
  • Address Belén: Carrera 65B # 30 – 95

7. Clínica El Rosario

Clínica El Rosario was founded in 1955.  The hospital is a private, non-profit institution. It’s headquarters location is in El Centro.  In November 2005, the hospital opened its second location in El Poblado near El Tesoro mall.  Reportedly the hospital has a total of 223 beds and 12 operating rooms.

The hospital has a vision to be by 2020 a highly complex health institution, leader in comprehensive, safe, humanized care and a reference center nationally and internationally.

The hospital provides emergency 24-hour emergency services, general surgery services, plastic surgery, pediatrics, neurosurgery, cardiovascular surgery, intensive care, outpatient surgeries and many other services. It has specialist centers including a heart institute, coronary care unit and comprehensive oncology unit.

Clínica El Rosario also has an international patient office similar to Clínica Medellín.

• Address El Centro: Carrera 41 # 62-5
• Address El Poblado: Carrera 20 # 2 sur-185

8. Clínica Cardio Vid

Clínica Cardio Vid was founded in August 1966.  It claims to be a pioneering Latin American heart and lung transplantation center. The hospital specializes in diagnosis, treatment and emergencies of cardiovascular, thoracic, pulmonary and neurovascular conditions. The hospital reportedly did the first heart transplant in Colombia in 1985.

The hospital is located in Robledo near the Clínica Universitaria Bolivariana and reportedly it has 153 beds and over 120 doctors. It has a 165,904 square foot facility with plans for a future project to expand its facilities.

Address: Calle 78B # 75-21, Medellín.

Health Tourism in Colombia

According to WHO, Colombia has the best health system in Latin America, ranked #22 in the world.  Colombia is also only three hours by plane from Miami and less than six hours from New York and Washington DC.

In Colombia, medical procedures can cost between 20-40 percent of the prices in the U.S. For example, a knee replacement surgery that may cost over $40,000 in the U.S. may only cost about $15,000 in Colombia.

Colombia is becoming a destination for health tourism for good reason.  The country has built a solid reputation for having the highest quality of health care in Latin America. Colombia also has a history of medical innovation and achievement.  For example, the pacemaker (external), Hakim’s valve and vaccine against Malaria were all invented in Colombia.

Around 40 percent of medical tourists seeking healthcare arrive through agreements with international health insurance companies (HMO’s). For example, European insurance firms (mainly Dutch based) having coverage in the Caribbean, consider Colombia as a viable alternative for their patients to receive quality treatment at a lower cost and shorter waiting times.

International patients in Colombia primarily come from the United States, Spain, Germany, Venezuela, the Caribbean and Canada.

Furthermore, recognizing the importance of English in health tourism, every effort is being made to promote bilingualism.  Each of the best hospitals in Medellín have some staff that speak English. And several have offices to support international patients.

By the year 2032, the Colombian government has a goal to be a leader worldwide in health tourism with reportedly a revenue goal of over $6 billion dollars.

The Bottom Line: Best Hospitals in Medellín

A number of publications have called Medellín one of the top foreign retirement locations, including Businessweek, Huffington Post, International Living, Live & Invest Overseas and U.S. News.

Good healthcare is very important for retirees and Medellín already has eight of the best hospitals in Latin America.  If you live in Medellín it is possible to have access to world-class healthcare at a much lower cost than is found in hospitals in North America or Europe.

Health insurance is also relatively inexpensive in Colombia, which is a topic planned for a future article on this site.

What experiences have readers had with the hospitals in Medellín?

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But Papa Johns is not the only U.S.-based pizza chain expanding in the city. Domino’s also recently added a new restaurant in Sabaneta.

Papa Johns opened its first restaurant in Medellín on September 2015 located in the La Strada mall in El Poblado.  It opened its second restaurant last year in El Poblado at Carrera 30 #10C-228.  With its new Envigado location, the company now has three restaurants in the Medellín metro.  The new Envigado location is larger than the company’s first location in El Poblado.

Papa John’s Pizza has been in Bogotá for a while. And they now have 16 restaurants in Bogotá. Plus, they have one in Chia and one in Cajicá.

The company opened restaurants in Barranquilla and Villavicencio before they opened a restaurant in Medellín. But Papa John’s now has three in Medellín and still only one in Barranquilla and one in Villavicencio. I have heard that Papa John’s is also scouting locations for additional sites in Medellín.

More About Papa Johns Pizza

Kentucky-headquartered Papa John’s Pizza is the third largest take-out and pizza delivery restaurant chain in the world after Pizza Hut and Domino’s. Papa John’s Pizza restaurant franchise was founded in 1983.

Papa John’s now has over 5,080 restaurants in 45 countries. In Latin America, the chain now has restaurants in 16 countries: Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. Latin America is a growth market for the company.

According to Papa John’s recent earnings disclosures, in their development pipeline are 200 units in North America and 1,100 units internationally, which are planned to open over the next six years.  The company is expecting growth to be faster outside the competitive U.S. market.

Papa Johns Menu

The menu for Papa Johns in Colombia can be found online here.  Prices in the new Envigado restaurant match what is found online.

The pizzas at Papa Johns in Colombia come in four sizes: personal for one person, mediana for two people, familiar for three people and mega familiar for 4+.

For example, for the Italiana that I ordered, the personal size cost is 16,500 pesos, the mediana size cost is 28,900 pesos, the familiar is 37,500 and the mega familiar size cost is 43,900 pesos. For a thinner crust available for the familiar size add 2,000 pesos.

Domino’s Opened Restaurant in Sabaneta

Papa John’s is not the only U.S.-based pizza chain expanding in the Medellín metro. Domino’s opened its second restaurant in Sabaneta late last year. So it now has a total of 14 restaurants in the Medellín metro area.

Domino’s has a restaurant located in the large Mayorca mall in Sabaneta.  But the company found that this single restaurant couldn’t handle the volume of pizza delivery business in the rapidly growing Sabaneta market with all the new apartment buildings being built in the area.

As a result, the company decided to open a second location in Sabaneta.  It is located a few blocks from Parque Sabaneta.  The new restuarant is much larger than the Domino’s at Mayorca mall with several tables inside for dining in.  And it is better located to provide delivery (domicillio) services to apartment buildings in Sabaneta.

The Pizza Market in Medellín

The big pizza chains in Medellín such as Jeno’s and PizzaDoblePizza don’t have very good pizza in my opinion. That is why the U.S.-based pizza chains Domino’s and Papa John’s are encountering success in Medellín and other cities in Colombia.

There are also a handful of individual restaurants in the city with really good pizza that have been covered on this site.  In Sabaneta, Pizza en Leña also has two locations owned by a Dutch guy that are popular with good thin-crust pizza cooked in brick ovens .

How does Papa John’s Pizza rank? I would personally rank Papa John’s pizza a step above Domino’s.  And in my opinion, Domino’s is better than the Colombian pizza chains like Jeno’s and PizzaDoblePizza.

I also happen to like Chicago-style pizza since I previously lived in Chicago for two years. But I haven’t yet found any really good deep-dish pizza anywhere in Colombia.

More U.S.-based Chain Expansions are Likely

Krispy Kreme opened its first donut shop in Medellín in March last year, which is located in a new building in El Poblado along the Milla de Oro (Golden Mile). Since that time, Krispy Kreme opened a second donut shop in Medellín.  It is located in El Poblado at Carrera 32 #2 Sur-47, which is located in the Mall Zona Dos.

Starbucks opened its first store in Medellín on September 1 last year located next to the first Krispy Kreme shop. Since that time, it opened two more and reportedly has plans to add up to five more this year.

Medellín now has several U.S.-based chain restaurants and fast food places including Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, Hard Rock Café, Hooters, McDonalds, Subway, KFC, Domino’s, Papa John’s, Krispy Kreme, Starbucks and Wingzone.

Bogotá has several more U.S.-based chain restaurants and fast food places that aren’t available yet in Medellín, including Pizza Hut, Chili’s, TGI Fridays, P.F. Changs and Taco Bell.

The Bottom Line

For expats that don’t want to see U.S.-based chain restaurants and fast food places that are expanding globally, you’ll have to go to a much smaller city than Medellín. The Medellín metro area is approaching a population of 4 million. There are already over 125 locations of U.S.-based chain restaurants and fast food chains found in Medellín.

With the continued growth of the city of Medellín and the success U.S.-based chains are finding in the city, additional expansions are likely.  But some expats are not happy to see all the U.S.-based chains in the city.

Keep in mind all these U.S.-based chains have come to Medellín primarily looking for Colombian customers, as there are only a few thousand expats living in the city.  And perhaps a few thousand more expat tourists in the city at any point in time.

What do you think about Papa John’s and other U.S.-based chains expanding in Medellín?

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The Colombia retirement visa is also fairly inexpensive to get with a current cost of only $263.

Several readers of Medellín Living asked for us to cover the Colombia retirement visa, as this type of visa hasn’t been covered yet on this site.

A popular location in Colombia for expat retirees is Medellín.  Medellín is becoming popular for retirees due to its climate, low cost of living, good public transportation with its metro, and good healthcare with eight of the top 44 hospitals in Latin America.

A number of publications have called Medellín one of the top foreign retirement locations, including Businessweek, Huffington Post, International Living, Live & Invest Overseas and U.S. News.

In our Medellín Living reader survey in December last year, 19.4 percent of over 200 expats surveyed living in Medellín have a retirement visa, which was the second most popular visa for expats living in the city.

Colombia Retirement Visa Requirements

To qualify for a Colombia retirement visa, you must show that you have income of at least three times the minimum monthly salary in Colombia.  In 2017, the minimum monthly salary in Colombia is 737,717 pesos.  So three times that is 2,213,151 pesos or only $753 at an exchange rate of 2,941 pesos to the USD.

The minimum monthly salary in Colombia increases each year. In 2017, it increased 7 percent. The government reportedly renews some visas for people that qualified under lower amounts in previous years.

Required documents:

• Valid current passport with an expiration date of more than 180 days and at least two blank pages.
• Copy of the data page of your current passport where your personal data is displayed.
• Copy of the page of your passport where the last stamp of entry to or departure from Colombia is located.
• Proof of pension: certificate issued by government, public or private company, foreign entity or diplomatic or consular mission from the country that the foreign national receives retirement funds with a monthly income of no less than three times the current legal minimum monthly salary.
• Passport style face photo with a white background, sized at 3cm width X 4cm height, max size of 300kb jpg file for online application.

The current cost of a Colombia TP-7 retirement visa is $52 for processing and $211 for the visa for a total of $263.

The Proof of Pension

The Colombian government reportedly prefers official government pension certifications for its retirement visa, such as from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA). It is reportedly more difficult to get approved with private pension plans

The proof of pension for the SSA is a SSA Benefit Verification letter. The easiest method to get a SSA Benefit Verification letter is via the SSA web site.

Next step is to get an apostille for this Benefit Verification letter. An “apostille” is an authentication attached to a document so it is certified for legal purposes for use in another country like Colombia.

The SSA Benefit Verification letter is a federal document. So the U.S. Department of State must be authenticate it.  You can order an apostille directly from the U.S Department of State via mail or in-person using a DS-4914 form, which costs only $8.  Agencies also offer apostille services in Washington, D.C. but these can cost upwards of $200.

Once you apostille the SSA Benefit Verification letter you need to get it translated into Spanish.  This is the final step.  Furthermore, keep in mind a Benefit Verification letter should be dated within 90 days of the visa application.

If you are getting your retirement visa in Colombia you can also reportedly get a letter in Spanish from the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá that certifies your Social Security income and is accepted as proof of pension for visas.

You email the embassy a letter of request, PDF copies of your SSA Benefit Verification letter, a signed release of information form and copy of your passport.  They will send back a letter that is accepted by Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores sent via a certified courier to your home.

Applying for a Retirement Visa in Colombia

The visa process in Colombia is fairly easy and it’s done online.  You can apply for a retirement visa online here. This application will require scans of all the above required documents in PDF files plus the photo in jpg format. A detailed guide for applying online is found here.

After the visa approval you need to travel to Bogotá to get the visa in your passport.  Visas are issued at the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores office in Bogotá. This is located at Avenida 19 # 98-03, Torre 100 Building, 3rd Floor.  It’s open from 7:30am until noon.

If you don’t want to travel you can use a visa agency.  A visa agency can handle the online application. And it will courier your passport to Bogotá to get the visa in your passport. There are several visa agencies in Medellín.  We plan to cover these agencies in a future article. If you use a visa agency, you will need to add a notarized letter in Spanish authorizing the agency to work on your behalf.

You can also get visas at Colombian consulates around the world.  In the U.S., Colombia has consulates located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Newark, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC.

Once you have a Colombia Retirement visa, don’t forget to apply for a Cedula Extranjeria (foreigner ID) within 15 days at Migracion Colombia.  If you don’t do this you will be liable for a big fine.  The fine is up to seven times the monthly minimum salary in Colombia (over $1,700).

A TP-7 Retirement Visa is good for a year and will need to be renewed each year. After five years of having a TP-7 visa you are eligible for a resident visa, which is good for five years.

The Bottom Line

Colombia’s retirement visa has a lower income requirement than retirement visas found in many other countries.  For example, the income requirement for a retirement visa is $1,000 per month in Costa Rica, Panama and Peru.  The Colombia retirement visa is also relatively easy to get.  But it also is intended only for people who are retired and drawing retirement income.

The cost of living is also relatively low in Medellín and several other cities in Colombia compared to the costs found in North America and Europe. So Colombia is expected to remain a popular foreign retirement location.

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Mama Santa is a comfortable place to take your significant other, family, friends or business associates.  On weekend evenings, the restaurant even hosts live entertainment consisting of local talent.  Mama Santa has a nice atmosphere with open air sides. TripAdvisor ranks Mama Santa as the second-best restaurant in Sabaneta.

Mama Santa was founded in 2000.  I first discovered Mama Santa several years ago at its previous location in Prados de Sabaneta.  This was before it moved around 2011 to its current location on Avenida Las Vegas.  The restaurant is located not very far from the Sabaneta metro station.

I hadn’t been to Mama Santa for a couple years. But I went the past week with a neighbor in Sabaneta. We decided to have lunch at the restaurant.  It was his first time to go and he was impressed and said the steak was excellent.

The Menu at Mama Santa

The restaurant has nine different appetizers to choose from including my favorites the meatballs (for 16,800 pesos) and the Argentinian sausage (for 12,800 pesos).  The nine different appetizers range in price from 4,800 to 48,400 pesos.

For main dishes, Mama Santa has a generous selection of meats, chicken as well as some fish.  Since its a steakhouse the specialty is the meats and it has a good selection.  It has three different Angus steak cuts including New York, ribeye and entrañitas that range in price from 42,000 to 52,000 pesos ($14.30 to $17.70).

In addition, the menu has over 10 additional beef cuts including filet mignon, baby beef, sirloin tip, and churrasco with prices ranging from 29,800 to 33,300 pesos ($10.14 to $11.34).  One of my favorites is the solomito al trapo, which is a sirloin tip marinated in wine, balsamic vinegar and seasonings.

There is also surf and turf (steak and shrimp) for 33,800 pesos. The menu includes ribs and two pork selections priced at 28,800 pesos each, a couple of grilled chicken options priced at 27,500 and 28,000 pesos and four fish options ranging in price from 28,800 to 31,800 pesos.  There is also a mix of pasta and meat for 24,800 pesos.  In addition, there are a couple salads on the menu.

All of the meals are served with a small side salad, choice of potatoes and an arepa.  After eating, if you still have room for dessert there are four on the menu – Bailey’s Cheesecake, Maracuya Cheesecake, Tiramisu and Creme Brulee for prices ranging from 6,500 to 7,200 pesos.

Furthermore Mama Santa offers a pretty broad selection of natural fruit juices, soft drinks, beers, cocktails, liquors and wines. In addition, whole and half bottles of rum, aguardiente and other liquors are also available for those who prefer to indulge.

How to Get There

Mama Santa is conveniently located about four blocks from the Sabaneta metro station.  And this is only about a five-minute walk. From the metro station walk east to Avenida Las Vegas and go right (south) and the restaurant will be on the left side of the street. The Sabaneta metro station is about a 10 minute ride on the metro from the El Poblado metro station.

A trip to eat at Mama Santa could be combined with a visit to popular Parque Sabaneta, since it’s not far from the restaurant. The main park in Sabaneta is less than a 10-minute walk from the restaurant.

The Bottom Line

I have eaten at Mama Santa several times over the past seven years and I recommend it. It’s my favorite steakhouse in Sabaneta. Everything I have eaten there has been good. I would even go so far to say in my opinion that some of the steaks at Mama Santa at times can rival some of the better steakhouses in the U.S.

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The worst traffic in the city tends to be found in El Poblado and El Centro in my experience. Also the major roads going north and south tend to have more problems than roads going east and west.

In Medellín it seems there are countless motorcycles weaving between fast-moving cars, drivers who think nothing about making their own lanes and pedestrians who cross the road in the midst of traffic. This can make the goal of safer and more efficient roads in Medellín appear to be more of a pipe dream.

Traffic is one of the downsides of living in Medellín.  But there are many upsides, including the climate, low cost of living, good healthcare and good public transportation.

Note the above photo is of traffic at about 5:30 pm on a Monday next to the large Bancolombia headquarters building.

The Traffic Problem in Medellín

Traffic is a major concern of expats living in Medellín. Our Medellín Living reader survey in December last year found that traffic is the number one concern raised by expats living in the city, see the above graphic.

Waze ranked Medellín with one of the worst traffic problems in Latin America in 2015.   But in my experience, it is not as widespread of a problem in Medellín compared to the traffic issues in Bogotá.  During a recent business trip to Bogotá I spent nearly five hours stuck in traffic. This was due to going to and from three meetings in three different parts of the city. This was also due to being stuck in both the morning and evening rush hours.

But Bogotá doesn’t necessarily have the worst traffic in Latin America.  In my experience the much bigger cities of São Paulo and Mexico City have some of the worst traffic found in Latin America.

What is Medellín Doing About Traffic?

Starting back in 2009, Medellín began investing in a high-tech road monitoring system. The system is comprised of two centers from which a network of cameras and closed-circuit video feeds are used to monitor the traffic in Medellín.

Agents in these centers monitor traffic on monitors. And when traffic abnormalities occur they decide what action to be taken. This includes dispatching police and wreckers. Since the system was put in place the response time to incidents has dropped dramatically.

The municipalities in the Medellín metro area have also been investing in new roads and road expansions over the past several years. But in my opinion they aren’t building new roads and expanding roads fast enough, particularly in high-growth areas like Sabaneta.

Pico y Placa

Pico y placa is a rationing system implemented by Medellín to address the traffic problem in the city during rush hour. Pico y placa is essentially a rush-hour road-space rationing system used on Monday to Friday.

Under pico y placa you are currently restricted from driving in Medellín during rush hours on Monday to Friday from 7:00-8:30 am and from 5:30-7:00pm depending on numbers on your license plate.

For cars the restriction applies as follows for cars with plates ending with the digit:

• Monday: 2, 3, 4, 5
• Tuesday: 6, 7, 8, 9
• Wednesday: 0, 1, 2, 3
• Thursday: 4, 5, 6, 7
• Friday: 8, 9, 0, 1

For two-stroke motorcycles the restriction applies with plates starting with the digit:

• Monday: 2, 3
• Tuesday: 4, 5
• Wednesday: 6, 7
• Thursday: 8, 9
• Friday: 0, 1

Note that pico y placa changes from time to time, so the above list can change.

For cars the restriction is during rush hour twice per week and for two-stroke motorcycles the restriction is once per week. To avoid pico y placa I’m aware that some wealthy people have even bought two cars.

Tips for Avoiding Traffic

My first tip is to learn when the traffic is typically the worst as well as the short cuts and plan your trips according. In my experience the rush hour is worse in the evening than it is in the morning. So I try to avoid trips from about 5pm to 7:30pm.

My worst experience in traffic in Medellín was traveling home to Sabaneta from the José María Córdova international airport during the evening rush hour. This trip normally takes about 45 minutes. But during rush hour on a Friday evening it took me about two hours.

I also highly recommend the Waze app for smartphones. I have used this app for well over a year and it has saved me countless hours from being stuck in traffic.  We also consider Waze to be one of the 15 best mobile apps to be used in Medellín.

Using Waze I can find out how long it will take to get to my destination and the best route to use. And in my experience Waze time estimates are pretty accurate. I use Waze on my cell phone all the time to avoid traffic and direct taxi drivers to alternate routes.

I did this recently on a Sunday when the Autopista came to a standstill returning to Sabaneta. All it took was pulling out my cell phone and Waze said there was an accident ahead with traffic not moving.  And it estimated 50 minutes continuing that way. I had Waze look for an alternate route. And it recommended backtracking and going on Las Vegas, which we did and it only took 20 minutes.

Use the Metro as an Alternative

I also frequently use Medellín Metro system as an alternative. There are many places in the city I can go faster by metro compared to taking a taxi or by bus on the roads.

I am a frequent metro user. And I happen to live not that far from La Estrella station, which is on the southern end of Line A. So I can get on the metro at this station even during rush hour and still usually get a seat.

From my apartment in Sabaneta to Santafé mall in El Poblado it’s about 25-30 minutes by taxi without traffic. With traffic during rush hour this can take over one hour. But by metro and walking it can take me about 40-45 minutes. So during rush hour using the metro is my fastest option and is also lower cost.

If it wasn’t for the Medellín Metro system, the city’s traffic problem would be much worse.  The Medellín Metro reportedly transports well over 160 million passengers per year.

What do you think of Medellín’s traffic problem?  And do you have any additional tips for avoiding traffic in the city?

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